Crown of Chrome

Time to continue the process of painting the 1/2 scale Black Heart Models bust!  As you saw in the first episode, I was using the new Badger Metalsmith color set to shade and tint a number of metal colors.

I was mixing in some additional Ghost Tint colors to achieve more dramatic dark tones and push some of the metal colors towards brass, copper, etc.

I used "regular" Stynlrez primer for the face, so that it would stand out from a texture standpoint from those metals.

And here he is, the genius behind the amazing Black Heart Models busts that everyone is so crazy for!  He developed some new rotating display cases for GenCon too.

We have already been making plans for next year, which should include a larger video monitor, so that people can see what I am doing on camera more easily.  There might even be scheduled times for specific demos, so that you can plan your dealer's room excursions around them!

After working on the main bust all day Thursday, I did some more elements on the face and the 'crown'.  This was also done with the Metalsmith paints.  Hopefully you can see some of the variety in the tones of the metals...

Time to attach those pieces, and see how they look!  You can also get a peek at some of the glowing areas, which I am working on now with my fluorescent paints.

Adding those sections created even more of a contrast with the textures of the face, which was great to see!

I will also add a touch of my fluorescent orange to the eyes, which should make them even more piercing than they already are.  As I told many people watching, the idea was to do the eyes, mouth and other details with a brush for a few reasons.

First, it was just easier to do so.  There are some things the airbrush does more efficiently, and vice versa for the traditional brush.

Second, the brush would provide that hard edged contrast that was needed to draw the viewer towards the eyes and central facial features.

There's plenty of things going on with this bust, so I need every available form of contrast.  Light vs dark, warm vs cool, muted vs saturated, and also hard vs soft edges.

I have some more posts coming of the activities in the Badger Booth, so stay tuned!

A Second Skin

We are finally back from GenCon, and the unpacking process is still under way!  This year was really interesting, and that started right off the bat when George put this massive 1/2 scale bust in front of me!

It is of his own inspiration, and he did a masterful job with it.  We thought that it would be the prefect subject to try out the new Badger Metalsmith paints as well.  Nothing like tryout out a new medium for the first time on a scale you have never attempted before... in front of a live audience no less.

I began with a neutral grey primer.  The set comes with a white and a blueish black, which allows you to get a lighter or darker look to the metal colors that you are spraying on.

At one point I even mixed a little of the black primer in with the grey to darken it.  I started to layer on some more of the Stynlrez primers on the face, since we wanted to determine if that should be non-metal tone.  The rose colored primer was sprayed over the grey in more of a dusting, so that it would almost be a purple tone.  I eventually went over that with more of the "flesh" colored primers.

I knew that I wanted some blueish glow in some interior areas, so I added the Plasma Fluid Ghost Tint to the white primer.

I didn't know exactly what kind of metal colors I wanted on the torso, so I experimented with some of the 'gold' mix.  That is, you take the metal colored primer and mix in the gold Ghost Tint (usually about 3-5 parts Ghost Tint to metallic primer).  This goes through the brush very nicely, and you get a decent, fine grain metal on the surface.

I added more dark shades of Ghost Tints (such as the Iron ore shade) and even some "regular" Ghost Tints such as brown and Oil Discharge to create darker metals.  This is usually the bugaboo for "metallic" paints... getting lighter and darker colors.

In some cases, I mixed the Plasma Fluid with the metal primer, and got a very nice blue metal!

Here I was using a lot of the darker Ghost Tints to deepen my shadow colors.  As long as you have a tiny bit of the metal primer in there, you will still have a metal sheen.

I even added some Fresh Blood Ghost Tint to make some of the cables more of a copper metal.  There is a special copper tone included in the Metalsmith set.

You can see more variety in the metals starting to emerge, and even some reflected light.  Keep in mind, this is pretty huge, so it was really vital to include that reflection, as well as some hefty shadows!  Stay tuned for part two, and more experimentation.  

Thanks again to George and Ken from Badger and Black Heart Models.  It was truly a lot of fun this year!

Old Toothy

Here are some images of the completed Mierce Miniatures giant... something!  It is really huge, and it is a large chunk of resin at that. :-)  To give you a sense of scale, the base is a wooden plaque the size of a DVD.

You have seen him before in a previous post where I tested out that new masking film, so here's a link to that article:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2018/06/film-school.html

By taking on some of the initial color work with the airbrush (mostly in the form of Stynlrez primers), I was able to create a solid Shaded Basecoat which I could enhance with glazes and further details.

This meant that I did not have to handle this very heavy figure quite as often, which means that the paint would not be touched.  Since the first several layers were also primer, it can withstand much more handling over time, now that it has been sealed and so on.

I am hoping at some point to be able to create tutorial videos on airbrushing, but that will require much additional equipment.  Also, overcoming the sounds of the spray booth, compressor and the airbrush means more challenges.  Oh, and how to talk while wearing a respirator :-)

If I can bring in those funds through the Patreon Page, that is the place where those tutorials will be shown.  Here is a link to what is already there:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Chew Toys

It has been a long time since I have had a chance to paint a Malifaux figure, so this set of hounds was a treat!

There were a lot of glazes involved with each one, but on this hound in particular I made sure to include some of the grayish blue glazes that I was using on some of the other hounds that looked more like wolves.

By making the highlights a bit more yellow, the grayish blue registered as more greenish to the eye.

I am always talking about context in miniature painting, and this is another area.  Basically making the eye think it is seeing one color, when it is actually another.

This can provide more depth and interest to your figures without having to mix and place endless layers of opaque paint, especially when you also have to deal with a very fine texture such as the fur.

It was not very pronounced at all, which meant that I could adjust it by freehand applications in the highlights and shadow areas.

Since these figures are a similar color, you can check out this YouTube live session where I talk about this concept:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbiEdQGIqu4

Scouting Ahead

This was the most complex kit that I have done for my Bolt Action armies thus far, and a definite favorite!  It is so iconic for early war, and a vital recon instrument as well.  It has already made an appearance in my latest battle report video!

I painted it with Secret Weapon Weathering paints, where I used the Engine Grime for the first time, which made a very nice dark grey glaze (with a warmer tone).  I used the Reaper Miniatures Gray Liner paint as well, which was also a warmer dark that complimented the glazes of Blue liner.

While these early war vehicles are Dunkelgrau, getting different "temperatures" to your tones is very important.  For instance, the surfaces facing the 'sky' are done with more of a cooler tone, which those facing the ground are warmer, or more earth toned.

Without a doubt, this had the most decals that I have ever had to deal with.  Somewhere between 14-16 of them... most of which were tiny!!  Still, it really helps lend a sense of scale overall.

The other weathering effects were also done by using the Secret Weapon Weathering paints in a more "traditional" way.  There are several mud colors, and the same goes for rust.  I needed to use this vehicle in my video the next day after painting, so the usual oil materials were not really an option.

I used many of the same colors painting the Panzer 38T kit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Z-eAAb1lI

I even tried out the new Secret Weapon engine oil products on the rear deck of this SDKfZ 232.  You can see a bit of that in this image.

Over my last several live sessions and hangouts, I have tried to emphasize that "limited palette" exercises don't have to be so limited!  Even if a vehicle is desert sand, green, winter white, etc., there are many options for creating depth.

All that takes is a bit of forethought, and a willingness to shift a bit of the color to the warmer or cooler side.  I have done this on several "green" vehicles, and on some upcoming desert vehicles.

Here's a few links to some older Facebook Live sessions:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211564190874477/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Let the Army Painting begin!!

I have been very excited about the new pledge levels on the Patreon page... especially the "Army Painting" series of instructional videos.

This course takes you through the process of planning out the painting of units and therefore armies, starting with the bases, moving on to the color scheme, followed by the best way to approach that color scheme. 

These are usually 3-5 episodes, and cover all the aspects of army painting that I have developed over the years.  The idea is to get the most out of the appearance of the figures, but in a reasonable amount of time.

The first series has now been created for the backers of this new pledge level, and many topics came up during the process... fluorescent paints, object source lighting, non metallic metals, and so on.  My goal is to tackle different genres with each set, and different materials.

For instance, I want to show how to use oils, do weathering techniques, etc. on future units.  I'll be covering 40k, Bolt Action, more fantasy units, steampunk, etc.

As some of you who are already familiar with the Painting Pyramid know, I start out with the Shaded Basecoat, which was initially developed as I painted my armies.

Here's a blast from the past!!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/p/using-shaded-basecoat-technique-to.html

Back in 2013-14, I did a kickstarter campaign in which I created 53 different videos, each one about 100 minutes long.  Many topics were covered, including 12 videos on basing techniques and 5 on terrain!

I have been adding to that collection with all new videos, which are available to the patrons.  The new Painting Pyramid videos are designed to incorporate my newest techniques and materials with the methods that I developed in previous years.

Since the original Pyramid days, I have gotten a host of new materials, and they have made life much easier, and opened up so many new options!

There are a lot of things planned for the army painting pledges!  I even have an option to get "hard copy" versions of the videos on a USB drive.  These are higher resolution versions, and you can watch them anytime you want.

Here's a link to the page"

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Painting Dark Sword: Episode 1

This was the first month of the new Pledge Levels on my patreon page, and there was little doubt that I would have to include painting videos on Dark Sword miniatures!  They are perfect for these instructional videos due to the fine sculpting and casting.

Working on this figure was a joy, as always, and it was the subject of the first instructional video.  It's already been posted to the backers who pledged at the level.

If the Page can reach the $1000 goal, I will add a second Dark Sword tutorial for that month.  There is a nice stockpile of prepped Dark Sword figures here, so I am ready and waiting for that to happen.  

The faces in particular, as well as the hair and hands are so much easier to work on at this level of zoom for the camera.  Most miniatures begin to look a little clunky when you get this close, but I was grateful to see how the tiny face on this figure could be so large on screen!

Each video begins with a discussion on the brushes, palette, and paints.

Just like the original Painting Pyramid videos, I take you through the Shaded Basecoat stage, Glazing, Midtones, Final highlights, Details and so on.

The new Dark Sword tutorial painting episodes are not the only instructional videos on the Patreon Page.  I have the Army Painting series, large creatures and Black Heart models busts as well!  Additional levels will be added in August and September.

You can check that out here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel